Lagos Court Sentences Fraudster To 42 Years Imprisonment Over €80,000 Scam

According to Ireporter Online, the Ikeja Special Offences Court has convicted and sentenced Ndidi Joshua Bobby to 42 years’ imprisonment for internet fraud involving identity theft and obtaining money under false pretence.

Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe delivered the judgment after finding Bobby guilty of multiple charges filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Lagos Zonal Directorate 2. The case bordered on stealing, possession of fraudulent documents, and the unlawful conversion of €80,000 belonging to a foreign victim.

The EFCC told the court that the convict, sometime in 2020 in Lagos, falsely presented himself as “Prince Louis” to one Sabine Sigrid Osterlehner with the intent to defraud her. He was also accused of unlawfully possessing and converting €80,000 to his personal use.

Bobby was initially arraigned in December 2021 on a two-count charge, which was later amended in July 2025 to six counts under the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act of 2006. He pleaded not guilty and stood trial, which commenced in February 2022, during which the prosecution called witnesses and tendered documentary evidence.

After the prosecution closed its case in October 2023, the defendant’s no-case submission was dismissed by the court, compelling him to open his defence.

Delivering judgment, Justice Abike-Fadipe held that the prosecution had successfully proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, stating that the evidence clearly established the defendant’s guilt.

The court subsequently sentenced Bobby to seven years on each of the six counts, to run concurrently, amounting to 42 years in prison. It also ordered the forfeiture of all items recovered from him to the Federal Government, describing them as instruments used in the commission of the crime.

“The law does not permit the retention of proceeds or tools of crime,” the court held.